ArtAcademy.com has free online "lessons" or readings on how to do realist portraits. There is a lot of stuff online related to just about any topic it's just a matter of choosing the words to put in the search engine. AA.com happens to be in an artistic idiom that I dig. Some things that I had to -- painfully -- learn: 1) working from the outside in. 2) being patient and knowing that the first lines I put down are probably way off but a heck of a lot closer than a blank page. 3) not getting hung up in details in one tiny section of the drawing while most of the drawing remains undone. But that's just me and where I want to go. There's all kinds of ways people figure out to communicate something. Just keep on plugging away preferably every day with some time off to rebel against yourself (and others). I spent almost all last year in drawing, alot of it was real grinding hip discipline. Looks like I'm going to continue with drawing this year. I'm still not satisfied that I'm as skilled as I want to be to move back into painting.